Of Cats and Mice
by Kama-Chann
Summary: From the moment they met, they've been playing cat and mouse. Both know nothing else, yet both want something more. Rated T for now; not sure where this is going. Definitely ScienceBros, quite possibly some slash down the road. Enjoy!


_Of Cats and Mice_

**I solemnly swear I am up to no good. **

**One**: Cats

Tony is definitely the cat: He is constantly chasing after Bruce from country to country. Sometimes, he even has to chase the man in the metaphorical sense - mostly during the episodes Bruce frequently falls into; the ones that make him shy away from everyone, Tony included, and hide inside his own mind. Tony knows all too well what that does to a person, has been in that same state before, and so always chases Bruce out into the world where Tony can show the man what an amazing person he is.

This leaves Bruce to be the mouse, an assessment that Tony agrees whole heartedly with. Bruce is thin and malnourished, even when he's staying at the tower, and has a nasty habit of scurrying off into holes that Tony can barely reach. Tony hates it when Bruce hides, but it always makes him more determined to find the man. Proof of this was recorded on JARVIS' system in the form of security videos from the one time Bruce had managed to hide away for five months. Tony had been a hopeless wreck, then, but determined as hell. Not to mention extremely sleep deprived.

Though he hates to admit it, the cat and mouse metaphor stretches even farther than that. It depicts far too accurately how Bruce feels around Tony: frightened, and even worse, trapped. Tony knows Bruce enjoys his company, he can see it in the man's eyes every time they're in the lab together or entrapped in an especially scientific discussion. That cancels out any theories that Bruce is afraid of Tony himself. Tony had mused over a theory, once, that it was just being around Tony, in the city, that terrified Bruce. That thought had quickly been discarded, however, on account that it still broke Tony's heart. Though, he would never imply such a notion – deny it, in fact – even though he would never have to. No one thought Tony Stark had a heart to break.

He had given Bruce everything he could think of, had relished in the ease of being with the man, had even gone as far as to tell Bruce in detail of his own past in the hopes that Bruce would feel slightly better about his own. Tony had done all of this for Bruce, had kept chasing him in hopes that Bruce would finally find a reason to stop running –

-but Bruce was still scared. He was still running, deliriously adept at his role of the mouse. It's making Tony feel tired. However, he keeps chasing him, regardless of the deterrents. He is Tony fucking Stark, after all, and since when has Tony Stark ever let what he wants get away?

He will continue being the cat, because Bruce is a mouse worth chasing.

X

Bruce both hated and craved this game they had fallen in to. It was a cruel twist on the classic cat and mouse – usually the cat would do the chasing. Yet, Tony in his classic stubbornness insisted on being the chaser instead of the chase-e. It annoyed and even sometimes enraged Bruce that Tony was stupid enough to follow after him constantly. What mouse doesn't know not to bait the cat?

Yes, Bruce was definitely the cat – he _did_ turn into an enormous green rage monster, after all. He had the claws and was three times the mouse's size. If that didn't qualify him for the position of 'cat', he didn't know what would.

This strange game had Bruce hooked, though. He would never admit it, but deep down where he safely locked all his feelings, joy overwhelmed him whenever he saw Tony's face for the first time in months. He craved the feeling of being wanted, of being important enough to Tony to make the man chase him. Once he had even allowed himself to slip into the comfortable haze of life at Stark tower for a moment, before being startlingly reminded of the fact that the cat will always – _always_ – bite the mouse's head off given the chance. _That_ was the reason Bruce ran, the reason he wanted with all his heart for Tony to drop this game; he knows that one day, he'll hurt Tony, be the cause of fear and pain instead of the brilliant smirks usually directed at him. He could never forgive himself for that. The mere thought of seeing Tony's face contorted in pain makes him dizzy with terror.

No, he needs to keep running, to find a place to hide that even Tony can't find, if only for Tony's sake. Bruce has never had a friend before, not one like Tony, not even before his accident. There was only ever Betty, and now, with her gone, there is only Tony.

And to hell if he's going to let himself hurt the one person he has come to care about. Besides, everyone knows that cats and mice can never live in harmony together – One will always be running.


End file.
